The U.S. thwarted a bomb plot by al Qaeda's Yemeni branch aimed at bringing down a jetliner with a more advanced version of an underwear bomb used in a failed 2009 Christmas Day attempt, officials said Monday.
The Central Intelligence Agency, working with foreign security services, was able to seize the bomb—which they believed was intended for a U.S.-bound flight—before the would-be suicide bomber was able to move ahead with his plot, officials said. Because the plot was headed off in its early stages, officials said the effort never represented a threat to Americans or to U.S. allies, nor did airlines face a direct threat.
The bomb was "viable," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said. The official added that it probably would have gone off but it did have some flaws that may have impacted its ability to detonate properly. The Federal Bureau of Investigation now has the bomb and is analyzing its makeup. The agency hopes to better understand tactics being employed by the al Qaeda affiliate that U.S. officials say poses the greatest danger to the U.S.
In any version of the article, anywhere, you can't find a single mention of the TSA having anything to do with saving us from this scourge. But hey, the TSA's new rule over this will probably be that we all have to fly commando now.
By: Brant
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3 comments:
I did see something on the news crawl this morning about the TSA intercepting someone who was about to board a plane with a loaded pistol.
So there's that.
Yeah, but the pre-TSA airport screeners caught those guys anyway. And without groping you or frisking you 6-year-old daughter.
What amazes me was the offhand comment, at the bottom of a news story I read about that Baltimore guy, that the TSA (and other airport screeners I guess) intercept over 1,300 people with loaded handguns trying to make their way onto aircraft _each year_. Enough with the terrorists, you guys need to be protected from your own citizens!
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